Spat



Nov. 19, 1935. P. J. MCCLURE SPAT Filed Deo 22I 1934 :lin

Patented Nov. 19, 1935 UNITED STATES eATENi oFFicE 1 Claim,

My invention relates to spats and particularly to a construction thereof whereby the spat is made to fit snugly to the ankle of the wearer and whereby the spats may be put on or taken off 5 with much greater facility than those of the present type.

The type of spat now widely used is secured about the ankle by means of a row of buttons lying on the outer side of the ankle of the wearer. It has also been proposed to provide spats with hookless fasteners positioned on the inside of the ankle and forming continuations of the usual straps which pass underneath the shoe.

A spat, of course, should iit snugly, and to secure this it is necessary, in many cases, to reset the buttons to fit the customer-wearer because spats are ordinarily made in only three sizes. Where a hookless fastener is employed on a spat of substantially inelastic material it is very difcult, if the spat is fashioned to flt the ankle, to draw the ends of the hookless fastener together in order to start the same. Moreover where the hookless fastener is positioned in the portion of the spat adapted to cover the inside of the angle, and forward of that part of the spat adapted to lie over the ankle bone, the fastener is very conspicuous from the front, and if concealed by overlying edges of the material from which the spat is made, as has heretofore been suggested, these edges do not always lie flat and there is a tendency for them to spread or separate and thus expose the fastener to view.

One of the objects of my invention is to pro- Vide a spat which will fit closely about angles of different size without the necessity of any adjustments of buttons or the like. Another object is to provide a spat which will comprise a perfectly smooth continuous piece of material adapted to lie around the outer side of the ankle. Another object is to provide a spat in which the fastening means consisting of a hookless fastener is so positioned to the rear of the ankle bone on the inside of the ankle that it will be substantially invisible when viewed from a position in front of the wearer, and the spat, while having the usual seam extending down the instep will otherwise appear to be a continuous piece of fabric when so viewed. Another object is to provide a spat having an elastic webbing inserted in a portion thereof in such a position that it is eectually concealed from view and which will provide sufficient give or stretch to permit the spat automatically to adjust itself closely about ankles differing substantially in size and shape. A still further object is to provide a spat having a hookless fastener inconspicuously positioned therein and which is provided with an elastic insert adjacent said fastener whereby the ends of said hookless fastener may be readily secured together to initiate the closing movement thereof and which, at 5 the same time, will draw the spat into snug contact about the ankle of the wearer.

With these objects in view my invention includes the novel elements and combinations and arrangements thereof described below and illus- 10 trated in the accompanying drawing in which- Fig. 1 is an elevation View of the side of my spat adapted to overlie the inside of the ankle; and

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective View of 15 the outside back of a spat adapted to t the right ankle.

Referring to the drawing, the major portion of my spat is made of the usual, substantially inelastic belt I and provided with the usual seam 2 extending from the top to the bottom along the center of the instep.

A strap 3, preferably o-f elastic material and located in the usual position is secured to both sides of the spat and is adapted to extend under the arch of the shoe. .Whereas the usual spat is cut substantially straight or slightly reentrant along the lower inside edge in the Zone 4 where the strap 3 is attached, I prefer that the portion l to which the strap 3 is` attached project down- 3 wardly, about as shown in Fig. 1, so as to underlie and fit closely against the arch of the shoe.

The side 5 of my spat which is adapted to overlie the outer side of the ankle is a smooth continuous piece of material extending from the instep seam 2 to the back seam 6.

Positioned substantially to the rear of the Zon 'l of the spat which is adapted to overlie the inside ankle bone is a hookless fastener 8 provided with complementary interlocking portions 9 and lil which are broughtl into interlocking engagement by means of the sliding metal tab ll as is well understood. Between the hookless fastener 8 and the rear seam 6 is an insert of elastic webbing l2 preferably dyed to conform in color to the 5 inelastic felt forming the major portions of the spat. One set IU of the interlocking hooks on the fastener is secured to the edge of the elastic webbing and the other set 9 is secured to the adjacent edge of the felt.

The elastic webbing can, of course, stretch to some considerable extent when 'lrmly stressed. Hence, when, the spats are applied to the ankle and interlocking of the hooks on the fastener may be readily accomplished by stretching the 55 description rather than of limitation.

webbing suiiiciently to allow the element I3 to be inserted in the sliding element; I4 after which the oppositely disposed interlocking members 9 and l0 can be drawn into interlocking position by pulling upwardly on the tab'. This operation stretches the webbingiZ with sufcient tension to draw the entire spat closely about the ankle.

While I have described my invention Yin its preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the words which'I have used are words of Hence, changes within the purview of the appended claim may be made Without departing from the and from the back thereof to a point adjacentV said rst mentioned point, and an entirely separable hookless fastener Vfor securing said elastic and inelastic portions together.

, PAUL J. MCCLURE. 

